A Window into Canada

By Festival Staff

Identity shapes how we see the world and how others interact with us. Through fiction, poetry and journalism, these writers illuminate the realisties of racism, isolation, identity and history for Indigenous people across Canada. Writing offers a new window onto the world and through their books stories these Indigeous writers are shifting the conversation about Idigenous rights in Canada.

Wrist by Nathan Adler's WristOctober 21 @ 8:30PMNathan Adler is a member of Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation. His debut novel Wrist is an indigenous monster story that will draw you into the lives and stories of the Ojibway people. In 1872, a group of dinosaur hunters in northern Ontario were driven made by a bizarre and frightening illness. Over a hundred years later, the same illness threatens Church and his family. He must delve into his family’s dark history to protect the secrets of his people. He will be part of our Paranormal Prose panel with Kelley Armstrong and Kristi Charish. Click here for tickets and information.

Passage by Gwen BenawayOctober 23 @ 8:30PMTwo-spirited Indigenous poet Gwen Benaway’s new collection of poetry, Passage, explores the the effects of violence and the burden of survival for indigenous people. The poems in her collection take readers from Northern Ontario to the Great Lakes, looking at family issues, a legacy of colonization and a new sexuality and gender. She will be joined by Vivek Shraya and Ivan Coyote. Click here for tickets and information.

The Break by Katherena VermetteOctober 24 @ 6:30PMWhen Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break—a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house—she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime. The Break, nominated for the 2016 Writers Trust Award for Fiction and the Governor General's Award, by Katherena Vermette, presents a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim—police, family, and friends—tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg’s North End is exposed. Vermette will be joined by Zoe Whittall and David Bergen. Click here for tickets and information.

Invisible North by Alexandra ShimoOctober 24 @ 8:30PMWhen freelance journalistAlexandra Shimoarrives in Kashechewan, a fly-in northern Ontario reserve, to investigate rumours of a fabricated water crisis and document its deplorable living conditions, she finds herself drawn into the troubles of the reserve. Unable to cope with the desperate conditions, she begins to fall apart. Part memoir, part history of the Canadian reserves, Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserveoffers a vivid first-person account of life on a troubled reserve that illuminates a difficult and oft-ignored history. She will be joined by Deborah Campbell and Joy Kogawa. Click here for tickets and information.

Witness, I Am with Gregory SchofieldOctober 26 @ 8:30PMGregory Scofield is of Métis of Cree, European and Jewish descent. In his new work, Witness, I am, he addresses themes of identify and belonging and the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. He weaves his personal perspective and knowledge of indigenous culture into his work, creating poems that are powerful and moving. Schofield will be part of our Poetry Cabaret with Sandra Ridley, Stuart Ross and Stephen Brockwell. Click here for tickets and information.